1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to athletic shoes with one or more sole extensions that extends upwardly from the outer bottom sole in order to protect particular portions of the shoe surface.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The related art of interest describes shoe devices designed for protecting various portions of the shoe. In general, these shoe devices are designed to resist wear at particular surfaces of the shoe or from surfaces for specific use, such as a ball kicking surface. Such prior athletic shoe devices substantially deviate from the standard shapes for modern athletic shoes and hence they may not be aesthetically pleasing. Further, the weight and increased bulk inherent in such athletic shoe devices reduce comfort to the wearer of the shoes as well as increase their manufacturing costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,470 to Holland III discloses an athletic shoe with control surfaces formed from a vertically enhanced outer sole. The sole extension adds substantial bulk to the shoes thereby reducing the agility of the wearer. The sole extension does not extend upwardly beyond the kicking surfaces and thus the outer terminal edges of the sole extension are vulnerable to external contacts and would likely result in premature separation of the sole from the sidewalls or uppers of the shoe.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 546,323 and 2,587,300 both show a very elementary concept of extending an outer sole over only the toe portion of the shoe to provide added wear-resistant surfaces.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a prior art athletic shoe. It shows a bottom outer sole 30 having a front portion 30a and a rear portion 30b. The upper side and top portions 14a, 14b (as shown in FIG. 2) are stitched to the outer periphery of the outer sole 30 by side seams 50. However the side seams 50 are located on the preferred contact surfaces of athletic shoes for contacting external items such as a soccer ball. The main disadvantage of the prior art athletic shoe is that the side seams 50 are exposed to direct and frequent contacts with the external environment resulting in early deterioration of the side seams 50 before the other components of the shoe are worn out. Thus with the unraveling of the side seams 50 due to frequent contacts, prior art athletic shoes resulted in the separation of the upper side and top portions 14a, 14b from the outer sole 30, and had to be prematurely discarded when other parts of the shoes were relatively free from wear. FIG. 1 also show a shoe tongue 10 attached to the front of the shoe and cleats 35 attached to the lower surface of the outer sole 30.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a prior art athletic shoe. It shows left and right upper side and top portions 14a, 14b as well as the toe enclosing upper portion 15. The side seams 50 are formed along the outer periphery of the outer sole 30. Traditional side seams 50 are vulnerable to contacts with external objects such as a soccer ball, since the side seams 50 are located at surfaces that are subjected to frequent contacts, such as preferred kicking surfaces for a soccer shoe. Hence, a need is seen to create an athletic shoe which advantageously delays the separation of the seams that attach the upper side and top portions 14a, 14b to the sole 30, thereby extending the life of the athletic shoe. FIG. 2A is a sectional view taken along lines IIAxe2x80x94IIA of FIG. 2.
FIG. 2A more clearly shows the location of the side seams 50 which secures the upper portions 14a, 14b to the outer sole 30, and the vulnerability of the side seams 50 to external contacts. The reference numbers for the prior art figures (1, 2 and 2A) are also used in the figures representative of the present invention.
In a sport in which the athletic shoe comes into frequent sidewall contacts, for instance in the game of soccer where the shoes are used as a kicking implement, it would be highly desirable to extend the life of the athletic shoe in order to delay the purchase of replacement shoes. In soccer, the preferred kicking surfaces on the shoe coincides with the location of traditional seams that attach the outer sole to the uppers (on the outer periphery of the sole). Thus soccer shoes, in particular, are quickly discarded when the seams deteriorate due to frequent contact with the soccer ball, other shoes or the playing field.
Accordingly, there is a need for an athletic shoe that retains the basic contours of the athletic shoe while at the same time delays the separation of the side seams that attach the outer sole to the uppers and the toe enclosing portions of the shoe upper, thereby extending the life of the athletic shoe. A need is seen to reduce the exposure of the seams in parts of the shoe that are frequently rubbed against in order to delay the deterioration of the seams.
The present invention provides an athletic shoe including an outer sole having an outer periphery, an upper that is attached to the outer periphery of the outer sole and a sole extension that extends upwardly substantially from the outer periphery of a front portion of the outer sole to overlap the front portions of the uppers as well as a toe enclosing potion. Upper seams are provided to secure the sole extension to the shoe upper on the top side of the shoe adjacent lacing margin areas having lacing eyelets provided on the shoe upper portions centrally of the shoe so as to minimize the chance of contact between the upper seams and the external environment, such as a soccer ball in order to extend the life of the upper seams, which in turn extends the service life of the shoe.
The sole extension can either overlap the front upper portion of the athletic shoe or it can essentially become the front upper of the athletic shoe, as well as the toe extension portion.